Israel-Hamas War Could Cause Hike in Oil Price: World Bank

Washington: The warbetween Israel and Hamas couldtrigger price shocks for raw
materials such as oil and agricultureproducts if the conflict escalatesacross the Middle East, the WorldBank warned in a report Monday.Oil has already risen sixpercent since the latest round of
fighting, sparked when Hamasoperatives from Gaza enteredsouthern Israel and killed more
than 1,400 people, mostlycivilians, and seized nearly 240hostages, according to Israeli
officials. Israel has responded withan unrelenting bombardment ofGaza, which the Hamas-run
health ministry says has killedmore than 8,000 people, nearlyhalf of them children.
The war between Israel andHamas comes as Russia’s war inUkraine has already put pressure
on markets, with that war being”the biggest shock to commoditymarkets since the 1970s,” warned
World Bank chief economistIndermit Gill. “That haddisruptive effects on the global
economy that persist to this day,”Indermit Gill said in a statement.”Policymakers will need to be
vigilant. If the conflict were toescalate, the global economywould face a dual energy shock
for the first time in decades” fromboth the war in Ukraine andconflict in the Middle East, he
said. Many potential price hikeswill depend on what happens toworld oil prices and exports, the
World Bank said.In an optimistic scenario, oilcould rise 3-13 percent, between$93 and $102 per barrel. A medianscenario envisages prices rising upto $121, while a worst-casescenario would see oil reach a peakof between $140 and $157 –potentially exceeding all-timehighs not seen since 2008.

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